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Show THOUSANDS OF PUPILS HOUSED i IN FIRE TRSPSi ' ' National Committee Report ' Calls Attention to Makeshift Make-shift School Buildings LACK OF PLAYGROUND SPACE IS CRITICIZED Investigators Comment on Great Number Who Leave Grammar Grades NEW YORK. Mar. 5. Tens of thousands of school children housed In fire traps and hundreds of thousands thous-ands of them either on half-time r In makeshift building Is the condition'. In 42'J cities of the United States as disclosed In a report made public today. to-day. The report was Issued bv the National Na-tional committee for chamber of commerce com-merce .co-operation with the public schools on )i survev conducted by the American City bureau. The committee was organized in February, 1920, to Inquire Into school I conditions, Its executive committee Is headeil by Oeurge J). Sirayer. of ' Teachers coliege, Columbia university. New York. The evidence presented '.'shoVO clearly that there are tens of thousands thous-ands of children now housed in old. Insanltar. dangerous buildings." says Mr. Strayer In his Introduction to the reporl. "Manv of fhesi- structuics are best classified as fire-traps." ( I I II S -l I D T Data was received from 429 cities. The report savs- "These facts, obtained ob-tained from "5 per cent, of all tho cities reporting, show that in these cities even excluding those housed In annexes where conditions may be normal, nor-mal, there are more than 453.000 children who are either on h.'lf-time because of la k of building space or are housed in portables, rented buildings, build-ings, attics, basements or corridors. It would reonlre an average of two-30-room buildings in each of these cities to uronerly house these groups of children alone." The report sets forth statistically tho inadequacy of plnyground space! "It is clear that In many cities .hll-dren .hll-dren are now housed In buildings In which there Is less space on the playground play-ground than is supulled In the classrooms class-rooms In which they are taught." says Mr. St raver in I he introduction. IACK ok PltVS ROOM "Three million six hundred thousand children are represented In this report re-port on plavgrounds." It Is stated, ' and the study discloses that one-half of them 1 hOO.000 children have each a playground less than six by six feet per pupil and many of them have no playground at all. These facts of limited playground space," says the report, "present one of tho serious prohk-ms confronting those who arc Interested in the welfare wel-fare of American school children Whatever tho cost, adequate piny ground space slvuld be provided for those school buHinxs already erected in congested districts Public sentiment senti-ment must become so strong that It will be considered a breach of trust for school authorities to erect a school building on a site that will not afford adequate playground space for all the nnnlld 1... 1 M .V... K.. 11.1 . I I"-.,.. nullum in ihv '.iiiiunia, FIRE Ml N :. On the subject of fire hazard in schools, the report states: "Only five per cent of the total number of buildings build-ings are of the types of construction usually call'-d fireuroof Only a small number have flreprooflng elements lo 1 lessen the fire hazard to the children. ! At least twenty-five per cent of the, two poorest types of buildings are of two jr more stories and do not have a fire-escape. Thlrtv-nlne per cent of these two types are without fire extinguishers, ex-tinguishers, and less than ten ler cent of them have automatic sprinkler equipment In anv part of the buildings. build-ings. Only 11 per cent have automatic automa-tic flro alarms. Such facts as these demonstrate the existence of a real menace to the children of these cities." One-half of present-day schools were built tirlor to H:7. The report directs attention to "the j large number of children between tho ages of 13 and 16 years who leave tho public schools." "There a probably no more serious problem or one more-difficult more-difficult to solve now fa.-in; the people peo-ple of this country," It says. According to the report from 290 cities, six per cent of the children I have left school before their 18th ! year, 19 per cent before 14, 38 per ! cent hoforo 16 and 6-1 per cent before j they are 16 years old. "In tho geographical groups." the reprt continues, "the highest per cent of these children remain In the western west-ern cities. Next in order are the Great Plains cities, then tho southern, the Great Lakes, and lowest of all are the eastern cities. In this Inst group only 29 per cent of the children chil-dren 16 years of age. and C6 per cepl of those from 11 to 16 years, hiclu ' are In school." Attention Is directed to "a notable falling off In attendance" al evening I schools during the last six year -, .i "period of unusually high wages." |